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Feb 4, 2014

The Xfinity Olympic Experience: Every Minute. Every Medal. Every Screen. Unlike Ever Before

By Matt Strauss, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Video Services for Comcast Cable in TV

The London Olympic Games marked a milestone for TV Everywhere awareness and usage. Xfinity offered customers more ways to watch, and they responded by consuming more content than ever. In fact, it was the most-watched event in television history.

The 2014 Sochi Olympic Games will be a continuation of our innovative Every Minute. Every Medal. Every Screen. approach. Xfinity TV customers will have access to more than 1,500 hours of NBCUniversal’s Winter Olympic programming, including live coverage of every Olympic competition across NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, and USA Network, and on Xfinity On Demand. Our customers can also stay connected to the Games on PCs and mobile devices via NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app for iOS and Android devices. Lastly, we’ve revamped our Olympics microsite to make it a one-stop viewer’s guide and act as a launch pad to take them directly to NBC’s online coverage of the games. It will even take them directly to the NBC Sports Live Extra app if they’re accessing the site from a mobile device.

However, the feature that makes these Games truly unique for Xfinity X1 subscribers is that, for the first time, we’ll deliver the NBC Sports Live Extra app, with over 1,000 hours of live streaming coverage, over the Internet directly to the TV via our cloud-based X1 platform. That means a feature that was previously only accessible on tablets and mobile devices will now be available on the biggest screen in the house. In addition, we’ve updated our X1 Sports companion app for the Sochi Games for those who want more information and control while watching Olympics coverage right on their TV, including the ability to tune to live and On Demand content. These are both examples of how we can embrace a moment in history, like the Winter Games, when all eyes are on the television, to showcase the new and innovative entertainment experiences we’ve been developing and delivering to our customers.

Since the Olympics generate massive engagement, it’s a great time to try new things. For example, during the London Games, we updated our On Demand barker (the 20 minute program that plays in the Xfinity On Demand menu for insight on what to watch and where to find it) every day. For Sochi, Bob Costas will be back again with daily updates and highlights from the night’s biggest and best events. We will, for the first time, be adding two special segments with the Today Show hosts. In London, we tested in-home automatic sign-in for the first time and now both in-home automatic sign-in and Facebook Connect are standards for Xfinity customers. We’re also testing new technologies and ideas during the Sochi Games:

Primetime Olympics Live on X1: In select markets, we’ll make NBC’s primetime coverage available on Xfinity On Demand immediately after it starts, giving customers who may be getting home during the show the opportunity to catch all the action from the beginning.

SEEiT: The Sochi Games will be the first SEEiT Olympics, offering Xfinity TV customers the ability to select viewing options directly from conversations happening on Twitter, including the ability to tune to the primetime broadcast or record it.

Immediate Credentials: For anyone interested in signing up for new service or upgrading their existing service to Xfinity TV Digital Starter or above, we are providing credentials on the phone immediately so these viewers can start viewing Olympics content online and on mobile devices before any equipment is installed and set-up in their home.

Finally, in celebration of the Sochi Games, Xfinity will open up free WiFi hotspots for all in high-traffic public locations, which will make connecting to NBC Sports Live Extra app even easier. NBC Sports Live Extra and NBCOlympics.com/LiveExtra are home to all streaming content and will be available to verified Xfinity customers.

When you look at our Olympics experience in totality – the On Demand choices, the cross-platform tools, X1, SEEiT and WiFi – we’re confident that we’ve built and delivered a comprehensive Olympics experience for our Xfinity customers unlike any other. We hope you enjoy the Games.

Everyone from product managers and programmers to business unit leaders and technical specialists will discuss news, change at our company, and our thoughts on what’s important in our industry. We look forward to our conversations, and welcome your feedback.

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